Volvo XC90 review

It wouldn't be a modern Volvo without tail-lights extending up towards the roofline

Volvo calls its tail-lights tattoo-like

Headlights are all-LED, and active bending and dipping is standard

Wheels are 19in as standard. Sizes run up to 22in as an option

Radiator grille is part of Volvo's new bolder, smarter corporate face. Its 'ironmark badging has been enlarged and its arrow aligned with the diagonal chrome bar on which it's set

The manually-adjustable steering column moves over a wide range to accommodate most people's needs

Driver's seat offers plenty of adjustment

Second and third rows are very roomy, aided by the long wheelbase and slim seating

Final tier of seating housed our 5ft 8in tester with space to spare

Boot is a practical 314 litres with all the seats raised

There is 1868 litres of space with the car configured as a two-seater

The Volvo XC90's infotainment system is intuitive and slick, but not faultless

Powered by the 222bhp 2.0-litre turbocharged diesel engine, the Volvo XC90 accelerates from 0-60mph in 8.3sec

On standard suspension, the ride is firmer and more intrusive than you'd expect

A very impressive all-rounder with its own distinctive appeal

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The new XC90 is the culmination of a remarkable period in Volvo’s history. Just six years ago – normally the period of time you’d want to develop such a car – the firm was perched on the edge of uncertainty.

A nose-diving global economy, falling sales and the desperation of then-owner Ford to extricate itself from European concerns left Volvo adrift on much the same perilous waters that eventually pulled Saab under.

Even the immediate solution to its woes – acquisition by Chinese company Geely – seemed precarious. What chance its recovery with a potentially fickle and impatient foreign investor at the head of the table?

But the clouds have parted spectacularly. Geely (from the outside, at least) has apparently been content to sit back and let the Swedes do what they do best: come up with neat, idiosyncratic solutions to the multitude of challenges that face a comparatively small European manufacturer.

That’s for tomorrow. Today, the car must simply be very good. Which isn’t simple at all, of course, because Volvo’s new halo is a premium large SUV, and that segment is hardly stocked with underachievers.

Among them is Land Rover, a company also divested by Ford and which has gone from strength to strength under foreign control. Volvo will have noted the company’s rise with interest and will hope to convince buyers that its take on seven-seat, all-wheel-drive luxury is at least as compelling as the one that has emerged from Gaydon in the past 18 months.

There are three trim levels to choose from: Momentum, R-Design and Inscription and only two four-cylinder engines, plus a plug-in hybrid version. The entry-level D5 model is likely to be the most popular, so that’s what we’ll focus on here.